From the Monterey Herald: Rancho Cielo students on Thursday received what once seemed impossible: their high school or GED diplomas. "We were the mess-ups, the low men on the totem pole, the dropouts," Martin Montoya told family, friends, staff and students at the graduation ceremony for Rancho Cielo's YouthBuild construction program.

A ceremony for Rancho Cielo's culinary academy graduates was held earlier Thursday.

"Leaving high school is a huge transition in our lives and none of us know what the world has in store for us," Montoya said. "I do know, however, that we have now been given the tools to deal with those life events."

Rancho Cielo is a school and social services center in Salinas that provides educational opportunities and job training for at-risk youth in Monterey County.

From the Monterey Herald: The Rancho Cielo construction program in Salinas has been called the "rock star" of the YouthBuild programs nationwide.

Yet when it came to funding the program, Rancho Cielo didn't getting paid to do another encore.

Officials at YouthBuild — a federal program where at-risk youth work toward their GED or high school diplomas while learning job skills by building affordable housing — have told Rancho Cielo that after two years it is "getting the best results, it is the most smoothly and most professionally run program," said Executive Director Susie Brusa.

This year, however, Rancho Cielo did not receive the $1.1 million U.S. Department of Labor YouthBuild grant it was expecting.

From the Salinas Californian -- Since 2010, a free soccer program run out of the Cesar Chavez Library has taught young people the basics of the game, like passing and formation — and much more, including how to communicate and develop team rapport. Dubbed “Biblioteca Cesar Chavez Futbol Club,” [more information here (PDF)] the program was started by Carissa Purnell, the Salinas Library technology manager, with key assistance since the beginning from two CSUMB students.

It has become “an amazing thing,” says Purnell. In addition to playing soccer, “students develop English skills on the field, they develop writing skills through handouts and exercises, and they break territorial lines to join in a common cause.”

In the following interview, she describes how the club came to be and to grow, and the difference it’s making across the community.

General Assembly Meetings are the First and Third Wednesday of the Month

The Community Alliance for Safety and Peace (CASP) meets the first and third Wednesday of the month. At our meetings, we share information on what's being done by CASP and its member organizations as we work towards our goal of a more peaceful future.

Meetings go from 7:00 to 8:30 am at the Salinas City Elementary School District office at 840 S. Main St., Salinas (click for a map). Please check our event calendar to confirm the details for a meeting you plan to attend.